Dropper



Sept. 19, 1939.

A. M. PLATTRING El' AL DROPPER Filed June 8, 1938 INVENTORS A; r re /NG fr P ,Q r ne /NG ATTORNEY.

Patented Sept. 19, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DROPPER.

'ApplicationJune 8, 1938, Serial No. 212,412

6 Claims.

This invention relates to a dropper for a container and more particularly for a bottle for medicines and the like. The main object of the invention is to provide a device which is useful for the dropwise dispensing of liquids of various viscosities and surface tensions. The invention mainly consists in a. dropper which may be secured to the opening of a container, as for nstance the opening in a bottle neck, the dropper having a portion which extends farther down ward from its top than another portion thereof, with a, passageway for air through the length of said iirst mentioned portion, and another passageway through the length of the shorter portion for dispensing the liquid from the container, said second passageway being substantially parallel to and considerably narrower than the passageway for air.

Further details and objects of the invention are apparent from the description hereinafter, and the accompanying drawing yshowing several embodiments by way of example. In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a side view of a dropper according to the invention and applied to a bottle with a cap, the bottle and the cap being shown in section.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the dropper of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a section along line 3 3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a side view of a modification.

Fig. 5 is a vertical section of another embodi ment of the invention.

Fig. 6 is a side View of a modification of the dropper of Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a vertical section of another embodiment.

Fig. 8 is a section along line 8-8 of Fig. '7.

Referring now to Figs. 1 to 3, the dropper may be made of glass or any other suitable material; it comprises a main body portion I0 with a tubular extension I I. A relatively wide passageway or bore I2 for the entrance of air passes through the tubular extension II and the body I0. Parallel to the passageway I2 another passageway I3 for the dispensing of liquid is provided within the body portion I0. This passageway I3 is considerably narrower than passageway I2 and also considerably shorter than the latter, owing to the fact that it is in a portion of the body Ill which does not extend downward as far as the portion II. A nose I6 projects laterally from the top portion of the body I0, and is arranged preierably opposite the passageway I2 in relation to passageway I 3 This nose may be so shaped as to form together with said portion a wedge-like structure Il, the forward end of which is slantingly cut off to form an inclined dropping surface vided at the upper end of passageway I3 in the x top surface I5 lof body IIJ and nose I6. This groove I4 is helpful in the formation of the individual drops, and guides the liquid towards the dropping surface I8. Thus, it is clear, that the passageway for the air will be on a higher level than the passageway for the liquid when the dropper is tilted with its nose downward. Another portion of the body Ill may form a` ange 20. The flange 20 may be set off at 2I, where nose I8 projects from the body I0. this arrangement, a sufciently projecting nose canbe formed which, notwithstanding the pro- Jection, can be covered by a bottle cap of relatively small size. It will be noticed that in the embodiment of Figs. 1 to 3 the passageway I2 is arranged eccentrically with respect to the axis 23. This is done in order to arrange both passageways I2 and I3 within a body of relatively small diameter.v We prefer to arrange the lower surface 24 of the tubular extension II in which passageway I2 ends, aslant with respect to the axis 23 and suitably so directed that the deepest point 25 of said surface is on the same side of the dropper as nose I3. In other words, the

plane of the surface 24 is aslantl with respect to aX1s 23, and perpendicular to the plane defined by the axes of both passageways I2 and I3.

In order to secure the dropper in a bottle or the like, a gasket sleeve 26 may be provided as shown inFig. 1 and the dropper may thus be tightly inserted in the neck of such bottle 28. In the modification of Fig. 4, the dropper body 59 is .screw-threaded at 5I, so that it may be screwed 1nto corresponding threads of a bottle neck. The

length of the tubular extension II is preferably so selectedthat it extends approximately through the length of the bottle neck 2l as shown in Fig. 1.

Owing to 1.5

In order to close the top openings of the dropper,

a screw threaded cap 28 may be applied with a gasket 29 between the top wall 3B of the cap and 4 the top surface I5 of the drop/per body III. By screwing 30 on the threads 3| of the bottle neck, not only the gasket 29 Will close the openings of the apertures I2 and I3, but also the iianged gasket 26 will be compressed so that the dropper is tightly secured in the bottle. The compression of the gasket 26 which may be of rubber or any suitable material, holds the dropper safely within the bottle neck even if cap 30 is removed. -,Th'e

dropper according to the invention operates in the following manner:

When, for dispensing liquid from the container 28, cap 3U is removed and the bottle tilted with nose I6 downward, air may enter through passageway I2, and the liquid may pass through passageway I3 so as to lill groove I4, and to form a drop which will fall oli from surface I8. As further air enters the container, liquid will be dropwise dispensed.

We have found that in order to obtain best results at least a portion of the passageway I3 should have a diameter of between 0.8 and 1.3 millimeters, and at least a portion of the air passageway should have a width of between 3 and 4 millimeters. Other portions of the passageways may be wider than indicated. Owing to the fact that the air passageway I2 is considerably longer than the passageway I3 for the liquid, a certain diierence in liquid pressure on the lower openings of both passageways is created when the bottle is tilted. This difference is helpful in permitting the air to enter the container to which the dropper is applied. On the other hand, the width of passageway I3 should be so selected that the liquid passing therethrough is subjected to sufcient friction to prevent an outflow of an uninterrupted jet. The slanting arrangement of the lower surface 24 of extension II is also helpful in the dropwise dispensing of the liquid from the bottle. We have found that a so constructed extension end prevents or at least counteracts the tendency of the liquid to form a membrane closing the passageway I2 and obstructing the air passage, which frequently happens, if the lower surface of the extension is perpendicular to the axis 23.

The size of the drops formed is largely dependent on the size of the dropping surface I 8. In order to obtain drops of a normal size, such as dispensed by the Bruxelles norm dropper, the dropping surface should have a width of between 3 and 4 millimeters and a length of also between 3 and 4 millimeters. If the dimensions are correctly selected, the dropper according to our invention will dispense drops of a size corresponding to about 20 drops of water or about 40 drops of oil or about 60 drops of alcohol per cubic centimeter.

In conventional droppers which operate satisfactorily if aqueous liquids are dispensed therewith, it frequently happens that alcohol iiows out too fast, so that no individual drops are formed or the drops cannot be counted. This is prevented by the dropper according to our invention, in the following manner:

If liquids are used having a certain surface tension such as water, practically no liquid will enter the air passageway, `even if the liquid level is above the surface 24 when the bottle is tilted. Consequently, the entering air has to pass only through the liquid column which happens `to be on top of surface 24. If, however, a liquid of a lower surface tension is used, such as alcohol, a certain quantity of such liquid will Venter the passageway I2 and the air entering Vfrom the side of the surface I5 must pass the liquid column in passageway I2 in addition to Ythat on top of surface 24. Thereby a certain braking force is exerted on the entering air which passes these columns in individual bubbles. In consequence thereof, the 'dispensing of the liquid through passageway I3 occurs dropwise in rhythm with the air bubbles entering the conytailler.

We have found that the dropper operates Well in the above mentioned manner if the entire passageway of the air has a length of approximately 11/2 to 3 times that of the passageway for the liquid.

Another embodiment of the dropper according to the invention is shown in Fig. 5. In this case, the body IIO has a central lower extension III with a passageway II2 for air. A cylindrical portion I3I surrounds the extension III and the passageway II3 for the liquid ends in the space between cylinder I3I and the tubular extension I! I. The outer wall of the cylindrical portion I3I and the body flange I20 serve to hold a gasket sleeve |26. In the modification of Fig. 6, the cylindrical portion I3I is provided with threads I32 so that the dropper may be screwed into an interiorly threaded neck of a container.

The embodiment shown in Figs. '7 and 8 has a body portion 2IIJ with a nose 2I6, tubular extension 2H and a cylindrical portion 23|. The cylindrical portion 23| is interiorly threaded at 232, so as to be screwed on an exteriorly threaded neck of a bottle.

In this embodiment, the passageway 2I3 for the liquid has an enlarged portion 2I-4. If this is done, care should be taken that that wall portion 225 of the passageway, which is located on the side of nose 2I6 is unbroken, i. e., free of any recess throughout its entire length, so that the liquid may flow along this wall portion without interruption from 4portion 2I4 into the restricted portion of the passageway 2I3. If, therefore, 2I3 and 2I4 are cylindrical, they should be arranged so eccentrically with respect to each other as clearly shown in Fig. 8. The upper portion of the air passageway 2I2 may be threaded interiorly at 233 and a screw 234 with a head 235 may be provided to be lscrewed into the threads 233. A gasket 236 may be inserted between head 235 and the top surface 2I5 of the body 2 I0. If this is done, both top apertures of the dropper are safely sealed. In order to provide such tight seal, the top groove consists, in this case, of two parts 2I8 and 2I8 interrupted by a shoulder portion 2I9 which is engaged by the gasket 23B when screw 234 is in position. In order to use the dropper, it is only necessary to remove the screw 234 with gasket 236. The screw '234 has a pin-like continuation 231 penetrating the entire length of extension 2l I when the screw 23'4 is applied. This pin prevents liquid from entering the air passageway during transportation and is provided, because it is sometimes troublesome to remove a liquid without departing from the spirit and scope of our invention as deiined in the appended claims.

What we claim is: 1. A dropper for a container comprising a body adapted to be secured to a container opening, a lower extension on said body, a rst pasi sageway for air, through said extension and said body, a second passageway in said body, substantially parallel to said 'rst passageway, ifor dispensing liquid from the container, .said second passageway being considerably shorter .and 'Inarfeo I at

rower than said first one, and a lateral nose on the upper portion of said body, said nose being arranged opposite said first passageway in relation to said second passageway, and the upper surface of said body having a groove extending from the upper end of said second passageway in the direction of said nose.

2. A dropper for a container comprising a body adapted to be secured to a container opening, a tubular extension on said body, a first passageway for air through said tubular extension and said body, a second passageway in said body substantially parallel to the rst one for dispensing liquid from the container, said second passageway being considerably shorter and narrower than said first passageway, and a lateral nose on said body, said nose having a slanting dropping surface with grooves therein, and being arranged opposite said first passageway in relation to said second passageway, and the upper surface of said body having a groove extending from the upper end of said second passageway in the direction of said nose.

3. A dropper for a container comprising a flanged body adapted for insertion in a container opening, said body having a substantially at upper surface, a lower tubular extension of said body, a first passageway for air, extending through said tubular extension and said body, a second passageway in said body,v substantially parallel to and considerably narrower than the first one, for dispensing container liquid, a lateral nose on said body for the formation of drops, the upper surface of said nose being flush with the upper surface of said body, a cap adapted to cover said body with said nose, and provided with inner threads so as to engage mating threads of said container, and a gasket between the inner top surface of said cap and the upper surface of said body.

4. A dropper for a container comprising a body adapted to be secured to a container opening, a lower tubular extension of said body, a rst passageway for air through said tubular extension and said body, the upper portion of said passageway being provided with screw threads, a second passageway in said body substantially parallel to the first one for dispensing container liquid, said second passageway being considerably shorter and narrower than said rst passageway, a lateral nose on said body for the formation of drops, said nose being arranged opposite said first passageway in relation to said second passageway, a headed and threaded pin adapted to be screwed into said upper portion of said rst passageway, and a gasket adapted to be pressed between the head of said pin and the said body, and being of sufficient size to cover the second passageway.

5. A dropper for a container comprising a body, a lower tubular extension on said body, a first passageway for air through said tubular extension and said body, a second passageway in said body, for dispensing liquid from the container to which the dropper is applied, said second passageway being substantially parallel to and considerably narrower than the first passageway, a lateral nose with a dropping surface opposite said rst passageway in relation to said rst passageway, means for sealing said rst passageway, and a pin in connection with said means, said pin being so arranged and constructed as to engage substantially the entire length of said first passageway when said means are in sealing position.

6. A dropper for a container comprising a body adapted to be attached to said container so as to project into the latter, said body having a substantially at surface, a lower extension of said body, a rst passageway for air, extending through said extension and said body, a second passageway in said body, substantially parallel to and considerably narrower than the rst one, for dispersing container liquid, a lateral nose on said body for the formation of drops, the upper surface of said nose being flush with the upper surface of said body, a removable member adapted to seal said passageway and to cover said nose, said member including means for holding it in sealing position.

ADOLPI-I M. PLATTRING. FREDERIC F. PLATTRING. 

